'Army is supporting democracy'

Historic changes in the Pakistan Constitution matched the changing attitude of Army too. This acknowledgement came from Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani who was happy to tell the world that the army was supporting democracy while remaining in the ambit of the constitution.
Leading daily

Historic changes in the Pakistan Constitution matched the changing attitude of Army too. This acknowledgement came from Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani who was happy to tell the world that the army was supporting democracy while remaining in the ambit of the constitution.

Leading daily The News and prominent E-Newspaper Daily Times reported that Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Friday said that it was for the first time that the Army did not intervene at the time of the 18th Amendment but lent it full support unlike the past. He termed the passage of the 18th Amendment Bill by the National Assembly identity of parliament.

The Premier in his address at a luncheon hosted by National Assembly Speaker Fehmida Mirza to celebrate the passing of the 18th Amendment Bill praised the armed forces for not interfering in the affairs of the political government.

He said if all state institutions continued to work while remaining within their respective spheres, Pakistan would continue to prosper and gain stability. The prime minister said there were areas in the constitution that still needed improvement, adding that he hoped that the future generations would improve upon them in accordance with changing times. He said the National Assembly had worked for the trichotomy of powers and hoped that the Senate would follow suit.

Dividend: Prime Minister Gilani was of the view that the consensus on the 18th Amendment Bill was the dividend of the policy of reconciliation adopted by the government. He hoped that the Senate would follow the National Assembly and would pass the 18th Amendment Bill unanimously and swiftly to restore the balance between state institutions.

He paid tribute to the people of Pakistan, the members of parliament and the parliamentary committee for achieving this consensus. He said the consensus of 442 parliamentarians - 342 from the National Assembly and "hopefully 100 from the Senate" was something unprecedented and spoke volumes of the policy of reconciliation that was successfully being pursued by the government. Gilani said the policy of reconciliation would lead to economic and political stability and was the need of the hour as the country was passing through a critical juncture.

Thank Zardari for surrendering much of his powerHe paid tribute to President Asif Ali Zardari for voluntarily yielding his powers. Gilani said he could have done so from the next tenure of the assembly, but he was gracious enough to accept it without any delay.

Gilani also thanked Zardari for voluntarily yielding his powers. He could have done so from the next tenure of the assembly, but he was gracious enough to accept it without any delay, he said.

Zardari will be a titular headDawn pointed out after the 18th Amendment to the constitution that was adopted unanimously with none voting against the changes President Zardari was on the threshold of losing much of his power. In a unanimous vote of lawmakers present, the lower house of parliament late Thursday approved a 102-clause bill that reverses moves by successive military rulers to weaken Pakistan's 1973 parliamentary constitution.

[The bill will move Monday to the upper house of parliament, or Senate, where it is easily expected to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority and then pass to Zardari to sign and pass into law].

The amendments will effectively make Zardari a titular head of state who can only formally appoint heads of the armed forces, dissolve the national assembly and appoint provincial governors on the advice of the Prime Minister.

Little benefit to the CountryThe bill's formulation and passage has been hailed as a rare feat of cross-party consensus in the fractious and bitter world of Pakistani politics, but analysts warn that it has little practical benefit in a country crippled by problems.

There is major unemployment and inflation. Millions live below the poverty line, suffer debilitating electricity cuts which stifle businesses and make life unbearable in the summer when temperatures top 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit).

Insecurity is rampant, particularly in the northwest and semi-autonomous tribal belt, which Washington calls a stronghold of Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters blamed for bomb attacks that have killed 3,200 people in less than three years. "The real test of the parliament starts now," senior lawyer and rights activist Ikram Chaudhry told AFP. "There is hardly anything tangible for the people of Pakistan," he added.

"The common man is being crushed by the loans governments have been taking from the IMF and other institutions. The government must rid of these loans by selling state assets so that it can give relief to people," he said.

Analysts also emphasise that real power in Pakistan lies with the military, which has ruled the country for more than half its 63-year existence and has made and broken countless civilian governments stronger than Zardari's.

Although the reforms make no changes to Zardari's immunity in office, the supreme court is putting pressure on the government to reopen scores of graft cases at home and abroad, after it scrapped an amnesty shielding politicians.

"Challenges will remain," said political analyst Jafar Ahmed, head of Pakistan studies at Karachi University.

"It remains to be seen how the judiciary acts on the issues relating to corruption. This will remain the main issue," he told AFP.

Zardari began renouncing his powers last year by relinquishing control of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, although again, the power rests entirely with the military.

Dawn said "Most of the changes brought about by the 18th amendment are welcome but few benefit the citizens directly and more relate to the concerns of politicians," said columnist and Supreme Court lawyer Anees Jillani.

"Making education free and compulsory up to the age of 16, and access to (public record) information, as fundamental rights are welcoming developments. "More positive changes could have been brought about but I guess this may be undertaken later: something is better than nothing," he said.

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